Baku, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
Drinking water and electricity shortage in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province has reached a critical level, the province's Governor Esmail Jabbarzadeh said, IRNA news agency reported on June 29.
Jabbarzadeh instructed the crisis center to normalize the situation and provide the province's population with drinking water and electricity.
Starting from July 2013, water is being delivered to population in several cities in Iranian provinces of Gilan, Hormuzgan, and Kerman in accordance with the schedule.
Previously, Managing Director of Iranian National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, Hamid Reza Janbaz said there is a drinking water shortage in 517 Iranian cities and this problem has reached a critical level.
He said the water deficit is due to an uneven population growth, increase in the number of residential areas, the disparity of water resources development plans and other reasons.
Iran is located in the arid zone, and for the past 40 years the country has repeatedly faced drought.
The drought in 1992-2002 caused considerable damage to agriculture. Quotas were set for fresh water in some cities, including the capital Tehran.